Recipe

Alabama’s Grapico Gets the Cocktail Treatment

Makes 1 Cocktail

A sophisticated boozy spin on a classic grape soda

Photo: Margaret Houston


Eric Bennett has something of a soda obsession. At The Louis, the bar he manages inside Birmingham’s new Pizitz Food Hall, there are sixteen different choices, including a pair of north-Alabama favorites: Buffalo Rock, a super-spicy ginger ale, and Grapico, a century-old deep-purple grape soda that’s been a favorite of Bennett’s since he was he was a kid. “I love the stuff,” he says, “but the whole thing about Grapico is that it’s crazy sweet.” Bennett’s The Land of G… features a set of strong flavors that can hold up to Grapico’s sugary punch, including Cynar, a bitter Italian liqueur flavored with artichokes of all things. (Oh, and that name? It’s in honor of a promotional song from 1916 called “Meet Me in the Land of Grapico.”)


Ingredients

  • The Land of G...

    • 0.75 oz. Gin

    • 0.75 oz. Bourbon

    • 0.5 oz. Lemon juice

    • 0.75 oz. Cynar

    • 2 oz. Grapico

    • Garnish: Lemon twist


Preparation

  1. Add all the ingredients except the Grapico to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with the Grapico, stir briefly, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Recipe from Eric Bennett of Pizitz Food Hall in Birmingham, Alabama.


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